Four years after an MGM representative told a Home Theater Forum gathering to watch for a Region 1 DVD release of Lee Tamahori's 1996 neo-noir Mulholland Falls in 2001, DVD File reports that one is finally on its way. The presentation will be 16x9-enhanced, with one extra in the form of a theatrical trailer; street date is November 2, and retail price is $14.95.

An official Web site is available for the old VHS and laserdisc releases, but no updates are yet in place for the upcoming DVD version.

Twenty years before Arnold Schwarzenegger took on California's fiscal and economic monsters, he was taking on the more conventional variety onscreen in Conan the Destroyer (1984), the sequel to the acclaimed big-screen adaption of the late Robert E. Howard's pulp fantasy stories. The film has been available on DVD in various, mostly mediocre versions for several years, but a high-quality, 20th anniversary Collectors Edition is finally in the works.

Extras on Conan The Destroyer--The Collectors Edition include a new 2.35:1 OAR 16x9-enhanced transfer, both Dolby 2.0 mono and Dolby 5.1 surround soundtracks, an interactive Conan trivia quiz, collector lobby cards, an image gallery, and a running commentary with leading actress Sarah Douglas.

Although produced in the U.K. for the PAL format, the disc is not region-restricted, and can be used in any PAL-capable player. Street date is September 27, with MSRP set at �15.99 ($US 29).

Hive4Media reports that Toshiba and Sanyo Electric have announced HD-DVD set-top players for fourth quarter 2004. HD-DVD is one of two competing standards for the long-awaited next-generation of optical discs.

Proponents of the standard, which include Warren Lieberfarb, whom many consider to be the father of DVD-Video, tout among its advantages compatiblity with existing DVD-V replication facilities and ready, workable copy protection standards. Still, no major studio has yet committed to HD-DVD, while rival standard Blue-ray can count on Columbia-TriStar and MGM, and their vast assortments of back-catalog titles.